Seat construction



Jan. 13, 1942. v SQPER 2,269,832

SEAT CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 30, 1958 2 Sheefs-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Jan. 13, 1942. G. v. SOPER SEAT CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 30, 1938 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 13, 1942 SEAT CONSTRUCTION Gilbert V. Soper, Akron, Ohio, assignor to The Firestone Tire 82 Rubber Company, Akron,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application November 30, 1938, Serial No. 243,188

1 Claim.

This invention relates generally to seat constructions, more especially to the seat supports provided for seats;

Heretofore sponge rubber has been proposed for use as the material for forming the supporting cushion in seats. One problem arising from use of sponge rubber is that the volume thereof ordinarily required to provide a comfortable support raises the cost and weight of the seat an undesirable amount.

.One object of this invention is to provide a seat support whereby a smaller volume of rubber may be used in the seat cushion, than that heretofore required, without detracting from the favorable supporting properties thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seat having desirable load supporting characteristics, which seat becomes more resistant to deflection after load is applied thereto. The

foregoing and other objects willbe manifest from the following specification.

Reference is now directed to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a seat support of the invention;

Figure 2 is a partial plan view of the seat support of Figure 1 taken on line 2-2 thereof;

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on line 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the lower portion of the seat support of Figure 1.

In its broadest aspect, the invention consists in supporting the front member of a seat by arms which are pivotally secured adjacent the rear of the seat. A distortable, load-receiving sheet extends between the front member of the seat and means adjacent the rear thereof to provide a ready surface for load application to the seat. The side arms are so positioned that on downward movement of the front member under load, the front member is moved forwardly relative to the rearv of the seat so as to increase the tension in the load-receiving sheet whereby its resistance to deflection is increased. This gives desirable load supporting characteristics to the load-receiving sheet since its resistance to deflection is increased when load is applied.

Referring specifically to Figure 1 of the draw ings, a seat indicated generally by the numeral I is shown carried by a base H. The lines l2 indicate the general finished outline of the seat. A rear, or anchoring member I3 is provided adjacent the rear of the seat Ill and it is suitably secured to and extends upwardly from a channel Ila secured to the base I I.

M one end of a flexible cable Tubular braces ll may extend between the anchored member l3 and the base II to strengthen the anchoring member. A substantially inverted U- shaped back frame l5is pivotallyassociated with the anchoring member l3 by bolts l6. Small pieces of pipe I! having recessed ends are secured to, and extend inwardly from, the anchoring member 13 to provide stops for the back frame l5 whereby th rearward movement thereof is limited.

A front member I8, having rearwardly extending end portions I9, is supported by side arms 2i that are pivotally mounted in slots 23, formed in the sides of a channel member 24 carried by the base ll, through holes (not shown) in the ends of the side arms 2|. The side arms 2| are connected to the end portions sleeves 25 in which both the arms and end portions are slidingly received. This connection permits relative longitudinal movement of the side arms 2| and end portions l9 whereby the apparatus is made adjustable, as hereinafter will appear. Suitable means, such as pins 28, extend through holes in the sleeves 25 and holes 30a and 30b, respectively, in the side arms and end portions If! to secure the members in fixed relation.

The pins 26 carry washers 26a at their ends,

both the pins and washers being removably posi-.

tioned by cotter pins 26?) extending through holes in the pins 26.

In order to provide a surface for load application to the seat H), a load-receiving sheet 21 extends tautly between the anchoring, member I3 and the front member [8. This load-receiving sheet may comprise fabric strips 28 and 29 which are suitably secured to the front member l8 and the anchoring member I 3, respectively. A plurality of rubber strips 3|, compounded to give the desired strength thereto, have fabric strips 32 molded to the ends thereof, which strips 32 are sewed, or otherwise secured, to the fabric strips 28 and 20 whereby a resilient supporting sheet is provided. Other types of supporting sheets obviously may be substituted for the sheet 21, thus a solid sheet of rubber, or a plurality of strips of rubber, or other suitable means may be substituted for that illustrated.

Preferably it is desired to have the supporting sheet 21 under slight tension under no-load conditions. To achieve this result, the upward movement of the front member l8 must be limited in any suitable manner, such as by securing 33 to the front member l8 and securing the other end thereof to the by a pin 22 extending IQ of the front member by base II. "This cable also functions to prevent the front member I 8 and the side arms 2| from moving upwardly on load application to the rear of the supporting sheet 21. In certain instances, the cables I3 may be omitted for the dead weight of the seat It may be sufliclent to tension the supporting sheet the desired amount, and if a small downwardly directed force be exerted on the front member II, when the seat is loaded, then the side arms 21 will not be urged upwardly by load on the rear of the sheet 21.

The seat of the invention may be adjusted to suit the particular seat, loads, and supporting sheet with which it is used by varying the position of the pivotal support of the side arms 2i. Thus, the channel 24 in which the side arms are mounted has a plurality of spaced slots 23 formed therein, in any of which the side arms may be pivotally mounted. Obviously the side arms 2| and/or the end portions I! may be inserted farther in or withdrawn slightly from the sleeves 25 to adjust their combined length so'that the side arms may be mounted in the desired slots and the propervradiu given to the supports for the front member. Thus, the sheet 21 is stretched, or further tensioned by load application since the side arms are fulcrumed, in all cases, so that the front member is moved away from the anchoring member when depressed by load. This increase in tension of the supporting sheet under load is a feature of the invention and naturally makes it more resistant to deflection whereby a load thereon does not produce an undesirable amount of ag therein. Whenever the I pivotal point of the side arms 2| is definitely located, then the sleeves 25 may be omitted and the side arms secured to the end portions l9 or the front member in any suitable manner. The side arms 2| may even be integral with the front member it, if desired.

The embodiment of the invention shown herein provides an individual back support and a common seat support, the part Ila of the anchoring member l3 being the center member of the seat It, the sides of which are similarly constructed.

While an illustration and a written description of one embodiment of the invention is disclosed herein, it will be understood that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a seat construction, a base, an anchoring member carried by said base adjacent the rear of the seat, a front member having rearwardly extending end portions, distortable load-receiving means tautly secured between said anchoring member and said front member, means for limiting the upward movement of said front member, side arms pivotally secured to said base adjacent the rear thereot for pivotal movement in a vertical plane and for supporting said front member, sleeves slidingly receiving said side arms and end portions to permit relative longitudinal movement therebetween whereby said front member may be moved forwardly and rearwardly relative to said anchoring member, and means securing said side arms and end portions in said sleeve, said side arms being positioned so that they move said front member forwardly relative to said anchoring member when they are forced downwardly by load whereby the tension in said load-receiving means is increased.

GILBERT V. SOPER. 

